Suspended Ypsilanti principal required to enroll in anger management

Ypsilanti Community Middle School Principal Aaron Rose has been on unpaid leave since April 28, following a physical altercation with a student. He is expected to return to work June 20.

(Lauren Slagter | The Ann Arbor News)

YPSILANTI, MI -- The Ypsilanti Community Middle School principal currently on leave following a physical altercation with a student must enroll in an anger management program and obtain re-certification in non-violent crisis intervention before he can return to work.

Aaron Rose

Principal Aaron Rose has been on unpaid leave from his leadership role at YCMS since April 28, and he is slated to resume his full responsibilities at the school on June 20. The Ann Arbor News obtained more details on the reason for the disciplinary action and terms of the leave through a Freedom of Information Act request.

A letter dated May 2, 2016, from Superintendent Ben Edmondson to Rose outlines the terms of the leave: Rose's pay will resume on June 1, and he will regain access to his school email account and laptop at that point. He can return to his role as principal on June 20 as long as he meets those two conditions of enrolling in anger management and non-violent crisis intervention programs.

Edmondson previously declined to confirm whether Rose's suspension was related to his physical altercation with a student that took place at the school on March 24. The May 2 letter says simply the disciplinary action was "based on the incident involving a student, which occurred on March 24, 2016, at Ypsilanti Community Middle School" and referred to it as "an incident of unprofessional conduct."

According to a report from the Ypsilanti Police Department filed April 14, Rose told police a student who had been dismissed from class on March 24 was verbally threatening him. The student pushed Rose's arm, at which point Rose pushed the student out of his personal space.

When the student came "charging towards [Rose] with his hands in the air in an aggressive [manner]," Rose grabbed the student's upper body, arms and shoulders in an attempt to stop the attack, and they both fell to the ground, the police report states. Rose held the student on the ground for "a few seconds" until he calmed down.

Officers reviewed surveillance footage from a camera near the middle school's front lobby doors and saw the student swing at Rose and then Rose grab the student and both of them fall to the floor. A teacher who was in the hallway at the time said he heard the student threatening Rose, and he saw the two fall to the ground in the physical altercation.

District administrators launched their own investigation into the incident on April 13, at which point Rose was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave until the conclusion of the investigation. That was changed to unpaid leave on April 28.

Rose has taught at Ypsilanti schools for his entire 17-year educational career, and he is a 1992 graduate of Ypsilanti High School. This school year was his first at Ypsilanti Community Middle School.

At the May 9 board of education meeting, several community members voiced their support for Rose as did the school board members, who also said they support the administration's response to the situation.

Lauren Slagter covers K-12 education for The Ann Arbor News. Contact her at 734-255-1419, lslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter @LaurenSlagter.